UPDATED: Sept. 15, 2018 at 11:37 a.m.

Liverpool junior Jacob Vacco is listed as a fullback. Often, Vacco’s job is to block for halfback Cade Clouthier. But when Vacco got the ball Friday, he averaged 21.3 yards per carry.

That performance came courtesy of 149 yards on seven carries, while racking up two rushing touchdowns in the process. Vacco added a touchdown as a receiver. Vacco and Clouthier (141 total yards, 3 total TDs) proved a duo too tough to tame as the Liverpool Warriors (1-2) ran by the Henninger Black Knights (0-3), 53-28, on Friday night at Henninger High School.

“Coming from 0-2 and getting a big win like this, that’s definitely gonna help (the younger guys), especially in practice,” Clouthier said. “They’re gonna go a lot harder in practice and we’re gonna get a lot better as a team.”

The matchup started as a back-and-forth, one possession game until Liverpool ended up with the ball on the opposing 45-yard line, up 14-7 in the second quarter. Vacco took the ball up the middle, made one tackler miss and just like that the 5-foot-10, 215-pound bruiser was gone. All the defenders could see was the back of Vacco’s jersey, No. 44, a tribute to the Syracuse legends he’s looked up to since he was a little kid.

It was already his second touchdown of the day, after Clouthier had gotten the Warriors on the board.

“It’s been a long time since I had fullback-tailback duo like this,” said Liverpool head coach David Mancuso. “Pick your poison who you stop.”

An interception by Liverpool’s Joseph Valerino got the ball back for the Warriors. The drive ended with Clouthier pounding it in from two yards out to put Liverpool up, 27-7.

Clouthier credited his blockers for the strong rushing performance, as did Mancuso. The team totaled 300 yards on the night, with Darreon Nixon chipping in 23, as well. That yardage behind Mancuso’s first ever line to feature two freshmen starters especially impressed the Liverpool head coach.

“Freshmen starting, that’s not something you see every day,” Clouthier added. “So the fact that they stepped up, I wasn’t even getting touched by people until I was five yards past the line of scrimmage, which makes life a lot easier.”

At the halftime break, the Warriors led 40-7 and Clouthier had scored three times. Vacco had scored twice, but three minutes into the half, he had an opportunity to match his halfback. The fullback recorded his second 45-yard touchdown of the game, this time taking a tackler on his back at the 5-yard line with him for six.

“Honestly, I thought I was gonna step out of bounds,” Vacco said. “When I got to about the three, I was just like, there’s no way I’m not scoring on this. So I just took it right into the end zone.”

Henninger finally started to find momentum in the fourth quarter. The hosts had just gotten a key stop and soon found themselves on Liverpool’s 5-yard line. The Black Knights’ Myquell Brown went up the middle, but Liverpool defensive end Antwan Kelly went straight for the ball, snatching it and taking it 95 yards to the house. That made it 53-14, a deficit Henninger wouldn’t overcome.

Vacco recorded two touches in the second half, and Clouthier didn’t record one as Mancuso mixed younger players in. The backfield tandem had already done enough.

After the game, Clouthier and Vacco stood side by side as Mancuso answered questions. When it was Vacco’s turn, the two backs exchanged looks and smiles as Vacco answered. Finally, when his coach and teammate were gone, Clouthier joked about the friendly competition in the backfield. Liverpool’s dominance had prevented him from winning that contest, too.

“I’d be like all right, I’ve got to get another one,” Clouthier said of trading scores with Vacco. “It’s like a battle. Who can get more touchdowns?”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, Joseph Valerino was missnamed. The Daily Orange regrets this error. 

Published on September 14, 2018 at 10:57 pm

Contact Eric: estorms@syr.edu